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THE COMPLETE DRUM PRODUCTION STUDIO.

Name: Superior Drummer 3
SKU: 693385
Availability: InStock

In addition to a massive library of raw sound material, Superior Drummer 3 introduces a unique design,* a streamlined workflow and countless features for powerful drum production in your computer. With Superior Drummer 3, you have control and creative power beyond the imaginable.

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More than 230 GB of carefully sampled drums

Engineered by George Massenburg

Ready for immersive sound playback

Audio to MIDI conversion

7 kits, 25 snares, 16 kicks

350+ electronic drum machine sounds

35 sound processing effects

Mix-ready presets for different styles

Import your own samples

Comprehensive MIDI library included

AUDIO DEMOS.

These playlists include a selection of full production and preset demos featuring different kits from the Superior Drummer 3 core library.
Please find more drum demos in the ‘Drums’ section and preset demos in the ‘Mixer’ section.

FULL PRODUCTION:

METAL & HEAVY.

FULL PRODUCTION:

COUNTRY, POP & ROCK.

FULL PRODUCTION:

MODERN.

DRUMS ONLY:

METAL & HEAVY.

DRUMS ONLY:

COUNTRY, POP & ROCK.

DRUMS ONLY:

MODERN.

DRUMS ONLY:

UNPROCESSED DRUMS.

DRUMS ONLY:

ALL KICKS & SNARES.

DRUMS ONLY:

ARTICULATIONS.

NEW TO SUPERIOR DRUMMER 3?

Get the full Superior Drummer 3 product with two SDX expansions in one convenient bundle. Tons of options and great savings!

BUNDLE UP

SOUND DESIGN.

A CREATIVE PLAYGROUND WHERE NO RULES APPLY.

The idea with Superior Drummer 3 is to let you step into a virtual studio with the best possible raw material and mix options at your disposal to create drum sounds in an environment where only your imagination sets the limits.

Superior Drummer 3 bridges the gap between acoustic and electronic and lets you venture off into completely new sonic landscapes. This is the definitive tool for percussive sound design.

STACK MIX & MATCH.

Learn how to load a default kit and then stack additional acoustic kicks and snares along with a kick/snare from the collection of electronic drum sounds available in Superior Drummer 3.

TUNE, ENVELOPE & VELOCITY.

Learn how to make tuning adjustments and how to work with the new tuning algorithm. Also, learn how to work with the Envelope, Velocity Curve and Soft Hit controls to further tweak the dynamic overall sound and dynamic range.

MIXER FX.

Learn how to work with the Bus Sends and various other sound shaping tools in the available in the Mixer!

MACRO CONTROLS.

Learn how to use the Macro Controls to adjust multiple parameters at once using the input and output settings of a compressor on a room channel.

IMPORTING CUSTOM SAMPLES.

Learn how to work with custom samples and building hybrid kits.

DRUMS.

A MASSIVE LIBRARY OF SOUND.

The Superior Drummer 3 core sound library boasts in excess of 230 GB of drum samples captured in extreme detail. In combination with the large selection of extra instruments added for stacking and sound design purposes, the sounds of Superior Drummer 3 give you an incomparable palette of options to craft drum tones beyond your wildest imagination.

Seven (7) kits

Optional tools available on select kits (sticks, brushes, rods, felt mallets)

25 acoustic snares

16 acoustic kicks

Approx. 350 electronic drum sounds

Tom shell dimensions cover ranges from 6″ to 20″

Meet the team and get a glimpse of what happened behind the scenes during the recording sessions.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE DRUMS

GEORGE MASSENBURG.

SUPERIOR ENGINEER, AUDIO PIONEER,
PROFESSOR AND INVENTOR.

SUPERIOR ENGINEER, AUDIO PIONEER, PROFESSOR AND INVENTOR.

George Massenburg’s contribution to the world of audio technology is hard to emphasize in words.

Aside from having produced, mixed or engineered in excess of four hundred records, received almost any industry award thinkable, been inducted into the Technology Hall of Fame and received an honorary Doctorate of Music at the esteemed Berklee College, he is the inventor of an industry staple: the parametric equalizer.

His attention to detail, accuracy and quality is second to none.

Superior Drummer 3 called for a superior engineer. These are his drum sounds – captured with layers of technology and a lifetime of experience to back it up.

Over the past four decades, George Massenburg has been involved in over 400 records. His work includes milestone albums by Earth, Wind & Fire, Linda Ronstadt, Natasha Bedingfield, Herbie Hancock, Billy Joel, the Dixie Chicks and many, many more.

George’s work has gained him world wide recognition and four Grammy Awards, including the Grammy for Technical Achievement in 1998, at the time making him one of only seventeen individuals to ever receive this honor.

In addition to numerous Mix Magazine TEC Awards, in 1988 he also won the Academy of Country Music Record of the Year Award for his production on the album “Trio” featuring Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris.

Further, George has designed, built and managed several recording studios as well as contributed to the acoustical and architectural design of many other studios, including George Lucas’ Skywalker Sound. In 1982, he founded George Massenburg Labs, an audio electronics company that has released an extensive range of innovative recording technologies, all based on his original designs.

Regularly published in professional journals and trade magazines world wide, George Massenburg received the Gold Medal from the Audio Engineering Society in 2008.

In 2013, he was awarded a patent #8,510,361 in the US (as well as other countries) for a variable exponent averaging detector and dynamic range controller.

He is also a member of the National Recording Preservation Board of the Library of Congress and an advisor to the Committee for Library Information Resources. George serves as the Chief Technical Officer of META (the Music Engineering Technical Alliance), a strategic union of music producers and engineers dedicated to the highest standards of audio and delivery of music.

George has also been awarded an honorary Doctorate of Music by Boston’s esteemed Berklee College of Music.

Currently, he is an Associate Professor of Sound Recording at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and a Visiting Lecturer at the Berklee College Of Music in Boston and Valencia, Spain as well as the University of Memphis in Memphis, TN.

Superior Drummer 3 called for a superior engineer. These are his drum sounds – captured with layers of technology and a lifetime of experience to back it up.

IMMERSIVE.

MAKE MIXES IN UP TO 11.1 SURROUND.

IMMERSIVE 11.1 SOUNDS.

The Superior Drummer 3 sound library was recorded using eleven additional room microphones set up in a surround configuration. This will enable you to produce drum mixes for use in anything from stereo to 5.1, 9.1 and all the way up to 11.1 systems.

STUDIO.

AUDIO PERFECTION IN UTTER SILENCE.

GALAXY STUDIOS IN BELGIUM.

The Superior Drummer 3 core sound library was recorded at Galaxy Studios in Belgium. With its 330 square meter room and eight meter ceiling height, it was the ideal location for capturing immersive audio of the utmost quality.

In addition, the entire studio complex is built on springs to ensure that the outside interference is literally nonexistent. In fact, with only 14 dBA of environmental noise, the main hall at Galaxy Studio is the most quiet recording space of this size in the world.

The most quiet recording space of this size in the world

330 square meter recording room

Only 14 dBA of environmental noise

Toontrack’s Mattias Eklund and engineer George Massenburg hard at work in the “API Room”.

Layers of technology. George and team are carefully placing each microphone to capture the immense ambience of the 330 square meter Galaxy room.

Each room is a standalone bunker, mounted on helical springs. The insolation between each bunker is a staggering 100.7 dB.

When sampling drums in surround and height, you need – height. The Galaxy hall with its eight meters from floor to ceiling was the perfect choice.

The studio took seven years to complete and a total of 318,000 man hours were spent to achieve the full construction of the facility.

In this video, George takes you through his Superior Drummer 3 microphone positioning philosophy.

Let Tom Van Achte take you on a tour through the Galaxy complex.

MICROPHONE & INPUT LIST.

MICROPHONE & SIGNAL CHAIN.

All third party brands, trademarks or registered trademarks are the sole properties of their respective owners.

GROOVES.

THE HEARTBEAT OF YOUR SONGS.

From quickly getting a custom beat going to laying out entire songs or diving deep into fine-tuning timing and velocity detail, Superior Drummer 3 has got you covered.

Add to this the comprehensive Superior Drummer 3 MIDI library, covering a wide range of styles, and you have a wealth of inspiration to use to craft your custom drum tracks from.

Comprehensive MIDI library

Grooves and fills for different genres

Onboard grid editor

Edit Play Style

Tap2Find

Song Creator

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE GROOVES

MIXER.

COMPLETE CREATIVE CONTROL.

The mixer introduces 35 low-footprint insert effects, making each channel strip a virtual sound processing powerhouse. Route, bus, send, saturate, blend and mix – the creative options are endless. With Superior Drummer 3, you are in control. Only your imagination sets the limits.

35 mixer effects

A wide range of presets

Individual mic bleed and mic control

Bus, route, send

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MIXER

TRACKER.

A NEW BREED OF AUDIO TO MIDI CONVERSION.

With the Tracker seamlessly integrated with Superior Drummer 3, replacing or augmenting drums has never been more powerful. Simply drop your drum audio material in Tracker, let it quickly analyze your content and in no time, you’ll be able to preview the MIDI based on your original tracks. Start blending, augmenting, replacing and creating.

Offline drum audio to MIDI conversion

Endless possibilities to replace or augment any drum performance

Drum recognition based on artificial intelligence (AI)

Machine learning based on over 1.4 million drum audio files

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE tracker

E-DRUMS.

MAKE YOUR ELECTRONIC KIT FEEL LIKE YOUR ACOUSTIC.

Superior Drummer 3 was designed with you in mind, the demanding e-drummer. Get started playing instantly with one of the the e-drum presets, or customize the way the software responds to your playing with the easy-to-use controls on the dedicated e-drum settings tab.

The flexibility of the software in combination with optimized velocity response, humanization and unparalleled velocity detail the Superior Drummer 3 core library will make your e-kit every bit as real and expressive as any acoustic kit can be.

Transform incoming MIDI without affecting the playback of MIDI files

E-drum presets for a variety of e-drum brands

Optimized response and humanization

Easy setup for positional sensing pads and multiple articulations

Up to 25 velocity layers per instrument

Quick access to controls for snare and hi-hat CC

By combining smart software features with extreme sample detail and nuance, Superior Drummer 3 bridges the gap between the “e” and the drums, making your electronic kit every bit as “real” and acoustic as it can be.

PRODUCT CONFIGURATIONS.

New to the world of Superior Drummer or already in the family?
Find your path below.

REGULAR VERSION.

For any customer not owning EZdrummer 2.

CROSSGRADE.

For owners of any version of EZdrummer 2.

WHY CROSSGRADE?

Save big compared to first-time buyers
Your already installed Toontrack sound libraries (SDX/EZX) will still work in Superior Drummer 3.
All your already installed Toontrack MIDI will still work

DOWNLOAD CONFIGURATION.

Due to the size of the library and to ensure that each customer freely can decide in what capacity he or she wants to utilize the source material, the product is configured in six (6) convenient download packages. Start by installing the software and then add each package in sequence as you go.

Software
The Superior Drummer 3 software. No sounds.

Approx. download size: 230 MB.

Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 need to be installed in sequence. However, as soon as you have installed part 1, you can jump straight to installing the Additional Bleed part.

Basic Sound Library
All instruments, all tools and all articulations in direct microphones as well as the OH Dyn and Amb Ribbon channels. Bleed available in Snare Bottom, OH Dyn and Amb Ribbon channels.

Approx. download size: 40 GB.

Room mics
The rest of the room microphone channels (OH Cond, Amb Near and Amb Mid).

Approx. download size: 46 GB.

Surround Setup
Surround. Five channel microphone setup to achieve 5-channel surround.

Approx. download size: 43 GB.

Height Surround
Height and width. Six channel microphone setup to achieve 11-channel surround (in combination with the “Surround 1” content).

Approx. download size: 52 GB.

Additional Bleed
All remaining instrument bleed, meaning the sound picked up by microphones other than the one(s) directly intended for a specific instrument or ambience.

Approx. download size: 54 GB.

Note: All surround channels can be used in any stereo system as additional ambience microphones.

CORE SOUND LIBRARY HARD DRIVE (OPTIONAL)

The full core sound library pre-installed on a 256 GB solid-state drive (SSD). This is a quality drive with no moving mechanical components, meaning it’s more resistent to physical shock, has lower access time and less latency than a traditional hard drive. This drive connects with USB 3.0.

Note: There is no software on this drive, only sounds.
A Superior Drummer 3 license is required.

SUPERIOR DRUMMER 3 – FEATURE COMPARISON.

	SUPERIOR DRUMMER 2SD2	SUPERIOR DRUMMER 3SD3	EZDRUMMER 3EZD2
Core library size	Approx. 19 GB	Approx. 235 GB	Approx. 15 GB
Drum set brands	1	6	7
Kit configurations	6	14	9
Ready for surround playback
Audio to MIDI conversion (Tracker)
Kicks	2	16	18
Snares	7	25	25
Cymbals	32	32	34
Electronic sounds		(Approx. 350)
Mixer effects	5	35	Depending on preset
Mixer channels	18	22	Depending on preset, max. 24
Mixer/channel presets	19	> 67	> 105
Instrument bleed
Individual bleed controls
Internal mixer busses	16	16
Internal stereo outputs	16	16	16
Tune drumheads and cymbals
Reverse sample playback
Pitch envelope control
Audio bounce in 16- and 24-bit
Percussion sounds
Percussion MIDI grooves
Future hit MIDI grooves
Import your own samples
MIDI grid editor
Quantize MIDI grooves
Swing quantize MIDI grooves
Advanced MIDI editing (nudge, random, ect)
Edit Play Style
Tap2Find
Bandmate
Song Creator
Song Track
Tempo & time signature change on Song Track
Multiple song track versions
Scalable interface
Detachable windows/tabs
Macro controls
MIDI learn
Support for keyboard shortcuts
Core MIDI library size	Approx. 1513 files	Approx. 1640 files	Approx. 2500 files
MIDI categorized in song parts
Instrument search browser with filters
MIDI search browser with filters
Custom graphics for all drums
Show Web Shop MIDI
Customizable mixer layout
Combine drums from all installed Toontrack sound libraries (SDX & EZX)			Only EZX
Create drum stacks
Advanced e-drum features		Advanced	Standard
Edit hi-hat pedal response/openness
Edit ‘Snare Zone Control’
E-drum mapping presets for most brands
Enable MIDI out
Advanced metronome settings

SUPERIOR DRUMMER 3 VIDEO LIBRARY.

Here’s an overview of videos covering anything from behind the scenes material to tutorials and inspirational tips and tricks. Enjoy!

SEE ALL VIDEOS.

HEAVY READING.

Want to learn the ins and outs of Superior Drummer 3? Check out this interactive user manual.

USER MANUAL

SUPERIOR DRUMMER® is a registered trademark owned by Toontrack Music AB in the United States (US Registration Number: 3171463), Canada (Registration no. TMA979813), United Kingdom (International Registration no. 1301338), Sweden (no. 530797) and other countries.

The Superior Drummer 3 user interface is a registered design owned by Toontrack Music AB in the European Union (RCD No.: 004171270-0001 –004171270-0012.) and the United States (D875125, D875772 and D875128)

All product names, not owned by Toontrack, that are mentioned on this website are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with Toontrack. These trademarks of other manufacturers are used solely to identify the products of those manufacturers whose tones and sounds were sampled for Toontrack sound library development. For a list of current owners of each of these trademarks click here.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.

64-bit Windows 7 or newer, 4 GB RAM (8 GB RAM or more recommended). macOS 10.10 or higher, Intel or Apple silicon processor, 4 GB RAM (8 GB RAM or more recommended).n64-bit host (with support for VST, AU or AAX). Standalone is included.nSOFTWARE: Approx. 320 MB download installation space.nSOUND LIBRARY: Basic install: Approx. 41 GB download and an additional 41 GB for the installation process. Complete install: Approx. 236 GB download and an additional 55 GB for the installation process.

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THE COMPLETE DRUM PRODUCTION STUDIO.

AUDIO DEMOS.

FULL PRODUCTION:

METAL & HEAVY.

METAL & HEAVY.

FULL PRODUCTION:

COUNTRY, POP & ROCK.

COUNTRY, POP & ROCK.

FULL PRODUCTION:

MODERN.

MODERN.

DRUMS ONLY:

METAL & HEAVY.

METAL & HEAVY.

DRUMS ONLY:

COUNTRY, POP & ROCK.

COUNTRY, POP & ROCK.

DRUMS ONLY:

MODERN.

MODERN.

DRUMS ONLY:

UNPROCESSED DRUMS.

UNPROCESSED DRUMS.

DRUMS ONLY:

ALL KICKS & SNARES.

ALL KICKS & SNARES.

DRUMS ONLY:

ARTICULATIONS.

ARTICULATIONS.

NEW TO SUPERIOR DRUMMER 3?

SOUND DESIGN.

A CREATIVE PLAYGROUND WHERE NO RULES APPLY.

STACK MIX & MATCH.

TUNE, ENVELOPE & VELOCITY.

MIXER FX.

MACRO CONTROLS.

IMPORTING CUSTOM SAMPLES.

DRUMS.

A MASSIVE LIBRARY OF SOUND.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE DRUMS

GEORGE MASSENBURG.

SUPERIOR ENGINEER, AUDIO PIONEER, PROFESSOR AND INVENTOR.

SUPERIOR ENGINEER, AUDIO PIONEER, PROFESSOR AND INVENTOR.

IMMERSIVE.

IMMERSIVE.

MAKE MIXES IN UP TO 11.1 SURROUND.

IMMERSIVE 11.1 SOUNDS.

STUDIO.

AUDIO PERFECTION IN UTTER SILENCE.

GALAXY STUDIOS IN BELGIUM.

MICROPHONE & INPUT LIST.

MICROPHONE & SIGNAL CHAIN.

GROOVES.

THE HEARTBEAT OF YOUR SONGS.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE GROOVES

MIXER.

COMPLETE CREATIVE CONTROL.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MIXER

TRACKER.

A NEW BREED OF AUDIO TO MIDI CONVERSION.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE tracker

E-DRUMS.

MAKE YOUR ELECTRONIC KIT FEEL LIKE YOUR ACOUSTIC.

PRODUCT CONFIGURATIONS.

REGULAR VERSION.

CROSSGRADE.

WHY CROSSGRADE?

DOWNLOAD CONFIGURATION.

CORE SOUND LIBRARY HARD DRIVE (OPTIONAL)

SUPERIOR DRUMMER 3 – FEATURE COMPARISON.

SUPERIOR DRUMMER 2SD2

SUPERIOR DRUMMER 3SD3

EZDRUMMER 3EZD2

SUPERIOR DRUMMER 3 VIDEO LIBRARY.

SUPERIOR DRUMMER 3 VIDEO LIBRARY.

SEE ALL VIDEOS.

HEAVY READING.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.

Sort by:

Sort by:

SUPERIOR ENGINEER, AUDIO PIONEER,
PROFESSOR AND INVENTOR.